The invention relates to an airbag device which is installed in an instrument panel below a flap on the passenger side of a motor vehicle.
Airbag devices, which are installed in an instrument panel below a flap or a cover on the passenger side of a motor vehicle, have a gas source for a filling gas and a gas cushion which, when filled with the filling gas, unfolds into the vehicle interior. The gas and the gas cushion are arranged near together, if appropriate inside a module. When the gas cushion unfolds, it is pressed through an opening in the instrument panel which, in the state of rest, is covered by the flap. The constructional unit, which comprises the gas source and the gas cushion and is arranged behind the instrument panel generally above the glove compartment, requires a relatively large amount of space, as a result of which the space available for the glove compartment is considerably reduced. Moreover, it is difficult to absorb compressive and/or tensile forces, which occur during the unfolding process and are caused by the unfolding gas cushion, reliably in the area of the instrument panel.
The object of the invention is to provide an airbag device of the type mentioned at the beginning, in which the space available behind the instrument panel in the motor vehicle is utilized for the accommodation of the gas source, in particular the gas generator, with the least possible impairment of the space for the glove compartment.